Death Bed
by bdssdeansgrl
Summary: Jesse is alive! Yay! So Susannah can be happy with him finally, they're both alive. Right? Wrong. Trust me, they won't BOTH be alive for long...
1. Lightning Strike

**Death Bed**

**Susannah Simon:**

**Saturday, 10:00 am**

"Now you're going to get it!" I yelled charging at the ghost. My silver ballet flat shoes padded across the slippery pavement. I could feel my scalp burning, the blood running down my back.

I'm going to be very blunt with you. Father Dominic is a priest at our school. Jesse is my boyfriend who used to be a ghost but is now alive. Paul was evil but learned to be good like us and we are all mediators. We can see, hear, speak and make contact with the dead. Yup, we're a 'mediator gang.' Paul's nickname, not mine.

So in other words, we can touch them, meaning they can touch us, and that they can physically _hurt_ us. That's the main problem of being a mediator.

I was supposed to meet Jesse and Father Dom and Paul at the Coffee Clutch Café.

I got a little detoured. I live really close to the café and being it _was_ a comfortable 70 degree day, I walked.

Notice my use of _was_.

It started pouring and thundering and being I didn't want to get struck by lightning I ran the rest of the way. I was only a block away when I was thrown into the air from some unseen force.

Well, unseen to everyone but our little 'Mediating Gang.' Now I am on the roof of the café and can I tell you I am not exactly thrilled about heights. And the little problem called the pole behind me: HUGE conductor of lightning. Great huh? The best part is if I yell you can't hear me over the thunder. Michelle was no idiot.

Her name is (or shall I say was?) Michelle Norrington. She was one of those snobs you read about in books. Started wearing make up before she was even a teenager, a million handsome boyfriends (bought?) that kind of thing. She was 19 years old now and still hadn't settled down with the 'right guy', until the day she was hit by a bus, more precisely, the school bus, which I just happened to be riding on.

Brad was in an accident (more like drunken date than accident) and we had to ride the bus. Of course the one day I go on the bus we hit a nineteen year old woman, I know, life is a bitch.

Anyway back to the present….

"You stupid bitch you don't understand anything!! My father is going to sue your sorry ass when he figures out all that you have done to me!!!"

She didn't realize she was dead. Or that talking about my ass with her wasn't really going to calm me down.

I guess she didn't figure out that she had telekinetic powers yet. That made my job much easier. She isn't moved on to the new life or whatever and I just need to help her finish her unfinished business. So now all I have to do is help her, hopefully before she figures out the whole powers thing.

"**YOU'RE DEAD**!" I shouted at her. "You can't communicate to your father unless you do it through me okay?" I asked. "You were hit by a bus, remember?"

Her eyes glazed over as though she were thinking, but quite unexpectedly she used telekinetic powers to tie me to the pole with rope.

I don't know where she got the rope or when she figured out her powers, but everything was just a big confusing glob right then.

My limbs were being pulled to the extent while the ropes dug into my flesh. I squirmed and tried to release myself but found it was no use. I was afraid of losing circulation, but then realized that was the least of my problems.

"Make me alive!" she screeched.

"I can't." I told her. I was starting to get scared now. Ghosts I can control (barely) but lightning on the other hand… well not so much.

I heard the crack before I felt the pain. All of a sudden it felt like a thousand spikes were running its way in and out of my body. I screamed loud enough over the thunder that I knew it could be heard in the Café.

My body was throbbing. That's why I was so surprised that all of a sudden I was on the concrete, uninjured. I was running towards the stairs to find the whole 'Mediator Gang' before it was too late. Before Michelle attempted to hurt anyone else.


	2. Dead or Alive?

**Jesse De Silva:**

**Saturday, 10:00 am**

I stirred my black coffee with my spoon, trying to do anything to get my mind off of Susannah.

I know her too well, and she wouldn't be this late for something this important.

I mentioned this to Father Dom and Paul many times. I didn't trust Paul fully yet, given our histoyr, but at least he had taken some interest. Father Dom on the other hand had dismissed the thought and said to give her five more minutes.

She was already half an hour late. Five minutes wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I sighed.

That's when we heard it. The screech of lightning connecting with metal, and a girl's scream cutting through the chatter in the café.

"That's her!" I yelled jumping up. They were close behind me. I knew the sound had come from the roof and I was pushing my way through the crowds of people.

My heart lurched and I could feel my stomach twisting dangerously.

I guess it was a good thing I hadn't eaten anything.

Before I could reach the roof someone stopped right in front of me on the stairs. It was Susannah. _It had seemed as if she had appeared out of nowhere. _

None of us realized she was glowing. We were too relived to see her.

"Quierda," I whispered embracing her in my arms.

I noticed three things simultaneously.

1 She wasn't warm like she usually was. She was very cold.

2 She was shaking very hard.

3 And she was glowing.

I pulled away, startled by my sudden realization.

The others hadn't noticed yet and were still grinning stupidly.

Susannah was frowning, her eyes cold and emotionless.

"You're dead," I whispered to her, my heart growing as cold as stone.

"What are you talking about Jesse I'm not dead!" she insisted. "Maybe I got hit by that lightning pretty hard but I'm not injured, see?" she said turning around as if she were modeling for us.

Now everyone was staring at her, jaws dropped.

"I can't be dead," she said softly.

"Can I?"

A long awkward pause followed.

Father Dominic, as usual, jumped in.

"You say you were struck by lightning Susannah?" he asked, his voice shaking in pitch and volume, "Where did this happen?"

"Uh, I think it was on the roof," she told father Dominic, tears springing down her face.

All I could think was, before I was dead and she was alive. Now she's dead? This surely can't be happening.

Paul and Father D. ran up the rest of the stairs while I just stood there unable to move. My feet felt like bricks. I thought I was going to be sick.

"Jesse I…" she started, but didn't know how to finish.

I didn't know what else to do. Afraid I would start yelling or crying in front of her, I ran up trailing behind Paul.

I looked back and saw Susannah had dematerialized.

I sighed again.

When I reached the top I heard everyone's breath catch.

I fell over onto the concrete roof, my knees crumbling under my body's weight.

Susannah's right half of her face was covered in blood, the cause of a gash in the back of her head. Her hands and legs were bound by rope tying her to a metal pole. She was tied so far up the pole that she couldn't have freed herself without falling onto the hard concrete. The rope held. The only sign that she wasn't alive was the fact that her head was tilted back, missing the support of the pole. Blood ran out of her mouth and her face was pale and cold.

Suze materialized in front of her body, floating in the air.

She had swallowed down all of her tears but you could tell she had been crying. Her mascara was running around her cheeks.

She calmly untied the rope holding her body's hands together. When the body threatened to fall over she steadied it with her hands.

"Can one of you hold me without hurting me?" She cleared her throat. "My body I mean."

I knew what she was doing. She might possibly only become comatose if they tried to revive her at the hospital. He knew her actions were rash and that she should wait to get an ambulance of fire truck to help her off the pole and planned on explaining this to her.

He looked at Paul and Father Dom. Paul stepped up to help and I stopped beside him. Father Dominic was too stunned to move.

"Ready?" she called.

Paul was the only one who could still speak, "Yes," he croaked feebly.

I was about to object to this, she could have broken bones and shouldn't be moved but before I could even open my mouth her body was placed in our open arms. She was very heavy, the phrase: dead weight flashed in my mind. I was too disturbed by the phrase so I blocked it out of my head.

It felt creepy just holding her body, so we set it down on the cold pavement.

"I already called 911," Father Dominic explained, "they should be here in a matter of seconds."

I wondered when he had done that but was too weak to ask.

The hospital was only a few minutes away so he was right, they shouldn't be too long.

We heard sirens approach in the distance. They would say they found her body up here after hearing a scream. She was hit by lightning and hit her head on the pole. It was much easier than the mysterious ropes story.

"What happened?" I finally asked.

"Michelle threw me up here from down there," she said pointing to the entrance of the café. "She just tied me up and then lightning struck so fast. I didn't know what had happened. She got really mad when she realized she really was dead. And when I told her I couldn't bring her back to life, she just couldn't handle it anymore, I guess"

Suze started crying again, her hands wiping at her eyes furiously. I didn't know what to do so I hugged her while Paul told her it was going to be okay. Father Dominic went downstairs to go get the ambulance.

I heard Paul's deep voice calming her down, slowly making the shaking of her crying subside. After Paul ran out of things to say he joined Father Dom downstairs.

"Quierda," I whispered over and over again. "What has happened done to you?" I asked looking at her body.

As I had her enveloped in my arms, I wondered if things would ever be the same again. But most of all, I wondered about Michelle. Was she really this crazy? I couldn't help think that we are all mediators too. I mean, won't she want to ask each and every one of us, individually? That's what I would do. And when she realizes that none of us can help her, will she just kill us all? Like she did to Susannah?


	3. Phone Call

**Jake Ackerman:**

**Saturday, 10:27 am**

I was dead tired after partying half the night and then getting home at 3:00 am. It was sort of amazing how oblivious Mom and Dad were.

I trudged downstairs to find Brad and David sitting around the table eating cereal.

Ahh, the relief of a Saturday.

I got a box of cereal from the cupboard and poured himself a bowl.

We got a phone call a few minutes later.

When I saw no one was going to pick up I scowled at them, sighed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, is this the Simon household?" asked a voice he didn't recognize.

"Who is this?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's about your sister, Susannah," the man admitted grimly.

"What about her?" I asked, starting to worry.

"Well it seems as if she were struck by lightning. She was transported to the nearest hospital. We're sorry but she is currently unconscious."

"What?" I cried. I knew Suze was accident prone but not to _this_ extent.

I asked which hospital she was at in a daze and then hung up the phone.

"Suze is...uncoscious," I said quietly.

"Oh shut up," said Brad, a look of worry in his eyes. "What was that really about?" he asked.

"She was struck by lightning and we have to go to the hospital NOW!" I shouted grabbing my coat and the keys.

When they saw how serious I was they instantly got up and ran to the car.

"Where, how?" asked David, fighting back tears, his voice breaking.

Brad was struck dumb, no words coming to his mind to say.

I just drove there as quick as I could, not wasting a moment to cry. Rain splashed on the windshield so I turned the wipers on.

"I'm not sure," I answered. "They said she was currently unconscious but still trying to revive her."

"Oh, God!" moaned David. David had always liked Suze, everyone did to some extent, even Brad.

"Wow I treated her so bad," he marveled. "The last thing I said to her was, 'Get away from me you bitch!'"

"No way!" I cried in exasperation. "Why the hell did you say that?" I asked.

"She said it was gross the way I drank milk."

"That's ALL!?!" I fumed. "It _is_ gross the way you drink milk."

"You don't think I know that? God, I am such an ass. I already know I'm an ass so you don't need to keep reminding me!" Brad responded.

"Shut up Jake... and Brad!" ever since David's voice had become masculine it was very authoritative. "Just drive Jake," he commanded. And I obeyed.


	4. Coma

**Jesse:**

**Saturday, 10:35 am**

When we reached the hospital none of us knew what to do. They just kept telling us to wait outside.

Yeah, right.

I watched through the glass obediently and saw that they still hadn't made any progress. She was lying motionless on the bed they put her on.

They took out paddles and tried to revive her numerous times. Finally I heard some beeping. I heaved a sigh of relief.

She was going to be okay.

Everything was going to be okay.

"Jesse?" asked the man.

"Yes," I answered.

I hadn't written down my last name. People tend to think you're crazy when you say you are a very ancient dead guy.

"And what is your relation?" the man asked.

Paul and Father Dominic were waiting patiently behind me.

"I am her brother," I lied. I knew that boyfriends didn't exactly get the same privileges as direct family did. The doctor didn't even bother to notice that I was hispanic, unlike Susannah.

"Well I'm sorry but she isn't going to be alright," he said suddenly.

I could feel my face crumble. "What? Didn't you revive her?" I asked.

"Well… mostly. It turns out she is actually a comatose patient. I am so very sorry." He said quickly. Then, as if he had other things to do, he ran off down the hallway.

The nurses and doctors quickly filed out of the room, just leaving Susannah's body. They hadn't seen her spirit since the ambulance had arrived. That also worried me.

"I'm going to go in," I told Paul and Father Dom, "Do you think I could talk to her alone?"

I wasn't all that worried because when Susannah showed up all she has to do is touch her body and she is out of the coma. Well, that is _if_ she shows up.

I grabbed the handle on the door and opened it a crack. Suddenly a strong hand came and slammed the door shut.

Startled, I turned to find myself standing face to face with Jake, Susannah's _real _brother. His face was red with a combination of worry and fury. David and Brad, her other brothers, stood behind him.

"What happened?" Jake asked coldly.

"She was struck by lightning." Jesse answered. That much was certain. I still had the long nerve-wracking explanation on why she was on the roof in the first place. Maybe he would say he didn't know. That would be easy enough.

"You should go home. You're not needed here," Jake said through gritted teeth.

"I have as any a right to be here as you do."

Before I knew it he had a hand out to punch me. Luckily my ghost years did give me some reflexes so I caught his fist in my hand before it connected with my jaw.

I didn't have to speak with her body. I needed to find her spirit. I walked off in a huff, not bothering to tell them that she is in a coma.

Now all I have to do is find her spirit and get her to touch her body. They would collide and then everything would be back to normal. Right? Hopefully? Yes. It'll all be fine. I just have to find a ghost that probably doesn't want to be found...that's all...


End file.
